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Public Debate: IS THE QURAN TRUSTWORTHY? Shadid Lewis vs Vocab Malone

On October 17, 2015, Muslim apologist Shadid Lewis (Muslim Debate Initiative USA Regional Director) and Christian apologist Vocab Malone (host of Urban Theologian Radio) debated the question: is the Quran trustworthy? in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Both men are orthodox and share a laid-back yet intense street-styled approach. The speakers’ “urban sensibilities” plus TWO 20-minute cross examinations make this debate extremely unique and informative. Filled with information but fast-paced; you do not want to miss this lively discussion!

A very interesting debate. Vocab Malone has an interesting way of speaking and presenting himself and I loved that it posed a challenge to Shadid. Brother Shadid did a great job countering the majority of the arguments. I would like to point out a few things, please consider them constructive criticism/comments.

The complaint that Muslims always ‘quote other sources rather than the Quran itself’ or that they rely on external sources is a very common one that I’ve heard many,many times in different debates. I can understand their complaint and would appreciate a way to counter this argument.

Also the idea that the Quran has been preserved perfectly is very hard to portray to non-Muslims simply because the definition of ‘perfect’ is not agreed upon. If we are to take the non-Muslims point of view that it is a 100% carbon copy of what was revealed then we wouldn’t be having a debate because it is not. The little differences in dialect (sometimes words or arrangements) is enough to make the argument moot. I noticed a lot of Muslims are not aware that these differences exist.

The following YouTube video is the first episode of how the Quran was revealed in a very simplistic manner. It is in Arabic and regretfully I haven’t found a good English alternative. I highly recommend putting the effort to understanding them.

Thank you both for your time. I find that these debates strengthen my belief and encourage me to further educate myself.